December 16, 2019 Monday Night RAW
The December 16, 2019 Edition of RAW is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's RAW brand, which took place on December 16, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. This was the Raw after TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Episode summary Lana asked Bobby Lashley to ask her to marry him Bobby Lashley said that once he got past Rusev, he was going to propose to Lana, and that’s exactly what he did. Kind of. With his (ill-gotten) Tables Match victory behind him, the two-time Intercontinental Champion got down on one knee for his conniving lady love, popping the question in front of the WWE Universe, though he wasn’t the one who actually popped the question. Instead, Lana produced the little black box, asking The All Mighty to ask her to marry him. And while Lashley briefly teased some dissent by saying he didn’t like people telling him what to do, he gladly made an exception for Lana, getting down on one knee and giving The Ravishing Russian a truly heartfelt proposal and promise to rule over WWE as the foremost power couple in the company. It was just like she had him rehearse, and of course, she said yes, promising the wedding would take place on Lana Day. Save the date accordingly. Seth Rollins attacked Rey Mysterio after a Gauntlet Match to determine the next challenger for the United States Championship The question of who would challenge United States Champion Rey Mysterio was supposed to be answered in a Gauntlet Match featuring 24/7 Champion R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, Ricochet, Matt Hardy, Humberto Carrillo and Andrade. But the match quickly turned from a contest into a bramble patch of grudges and unpaid debts, all of which boiled over into a pair of heinous attacks. The first such assault came at the end of the Gauntlet Match itself. After Tozawa pinned Truth and Ricochet posted consecutive wins over The Stamina Monster and Matt Hardy, Humberto Carrillo pinned the high-flyer to bring it down to himself and Andrade. But Andrade, clearly out for retribution rather than a win after a pair of losses to Carrillo, instead ambushed the up-and-comer before the match, drilling him into the exposed concrete of the arena with a Hammerlock DDT that brought out Mysterio to assist. But just as Humberto was being taken up the ramp in a stretcher, Seth Rollins and AOP appeared. Rollins was brandishing Mysterio’s signature steel pipe, which he gave to Kevin Owens to assist in KO’s pursuit of Rollins and AOP last week. Suddenly, Rollins’ unsettled score became clear, and after Akam & Rezar administered a brief beatdown of The Ultimate Underdog, the former Universal Champion seemingly granted him clemency for just one night … only to turn around at the last second and nail him with a Stomp. The only reason it wasn’t worse, according to Rollins, was then if Rey had been hospitalized, he wouldn’t be able to answer a challenge to defend United States Title against Rollins himself on next week’s show — a challenge that Rey decided to accept, despite his very sore temptation to fight Andrade instead. Rollins' effectiveness as a "leader" may be a matter of opinion, but clearly, his new strategy is getting results. Deonna Purrazzo vs Asuka What happens when Asuka has run out of Raw Superstars to devour? Send ‘em in from NXT! The Empress of Tomorrow flew solo on Raw and made quick work of “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo, who put up a good fight with the help of a pre-match cheap shot, only to be dispatched down the stretch with the Asuka Lock. It was proof that The Empress can switch between singles and tag competition in seamless fashion — something that Becky Lynch seemed to think was forgotten by WWE’s powers that be. In the wake of Asuka’s victory, a sit-down interview with The Man revealed that Lynch saw her recent move to the tag team division as a tactic by WWE management to “protect” her since they now view her as the “golden goose.” But all it did was bring her dirty secret to the forefront: Asuka remains one of the only Superstars that Lynch has yet to beat. And while most of Lynch’s prospective opponents need a match with The Man, she might be approaching a situation where the opposite is true. Results * WWE United States Title #1 Contendership Six Man Gauntlet Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Andrade (w/ Zelina Vega) vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Matt Hardy vs. R-Truth vs. Ricochet ended in a No Contest * Singles Match: Asuka defeated Deonna Purrazzo by submission Other on-screen talent * I'nterviewer:' Charly Caruso & Sarah Schreiber Media Category:2019 television episodes Category:RAW episodes Category:Asuka Category:Episodes featuring Becky Lynch Category:Episodes featuring Charly Caruso Category:Deonna Purrazzo Category:Episodes featuring Lana Category:Episodes featuring Sarah Schreiber Category:Zelina Vega Category:WWE television episodes